DAVID HENRY HWANG INTERVIEWIt's OK to be Wrong and/or It's OK to be HwangPresentations of idiosyncratic history pageants with
a sense of humor and musicality
A Creative Soul, Successful Playwright, Screenwriter and Librettist with
All the Work He can Handle

PARENTS & RELATIVES
US ASIANS:
Could you share what initially prompted your parents to be strong supporters of East West Players? Was it the result of the involvement of people such as Mako/Bessie Loo/Beulah Quo/etc. being involved and/or was it that they were the only viable outlets for actors of Asian descent in the U.S. at that time?

DAVID HENRY HWANG: Upon arriving in the States, my
father attended college for a year in Oregon,
then began a long and frustrating search for a job. One of the first people
to employ him was Beulah Quo's future husband, Edmund Kwoh. Though my
father didn't last long at that firm, our families
remained friendly in subsequent years. My parents learned about EWP (East
West Players) from Beulah shortly after its founding. My mother was a
concert pianist, and so ended up being the "pit orchestra" for one of
EWP's (East West Players) first productions, Menotti's operetta, "The
Medium." I remember hanging around rehearsals as a child. So the connection
between my parents and EWP (East West Players) began very early in the
institution's life.

US ASIANS:
What introspective perspectives did your parents provide to your works, considering their support by seeing all your works and accepting that part of their lives is interwoven with your writings?

DAVID HENRY HWANG:
My parents have been very supportive of my career, after initial opposition from my father, but they've never been particularly active in providing dramaturgical advice. My father's always been very gregarious and outspoken, but our tastes don't always coincide. To date, he's only really embraced two works of mine: "FOB" and "Flower Drum Song." About everything in between, he has reservations.

US ASIANS:
You've shared that learning about your heritage was replaced by the goal of assimilating into American culture from your family, could you share your thoughts on the possible reasons that had the highest priority that your parents might have had to pursue this course of upbringing that placed a lower priority of one's history?

DAVID HENRY HWANG:
I think my parents were simply products of their times, immigrants to America during a period when the culture emphasized assimilation. They embraced that philosophy in the hope that they and their children would succeed. I can't argue with any certainty that they were wrong -- they assimilated to the best of their ability, and they did succeed.

US ASIANS:
What happened to the well-received stories/non-fiction novel about your family history (that included the tales of her aunt casting out demons in Fukien China) that you wrote at the age of 12 from your grandmother when you thought she was going to die?

US ASIANS:
Having observed Monterey Park's transition from a place that wouldn't sell a house to your parent to a place that is almost entirely Chinese provide a glimpse of how the world is in constant flux that provides the lesson that everything changes in time?

Henry
Hwang, founder of the first Asian American bank (and father of playwright
David Henry Hwang) passed away last Saturday at the age of 77. His
story is the stuff of immigrant fairytales: arrive in the U.S. with
nothing but a few bucks, toil away in a Chinese laundromat, get
a CPA, start a bank, and eventually sell it for 90 million big ones.
No wonder he was a big Republican supporter and Reagan crony.

David
Henry Hwang's Response
Regarding "My father being a "big Republican supporter and Reagan crony.""
He also co-chaired "Republicans for Clinton" in the 90's,
and eventually came to feel that Republicans were generally insensitive
to Asians and other minorities. Towards the end of his life, he
strongly opposed the Presidency of George W. Bush, particularly
the Iraq War. The last Presidential vote of my father's life was
for John Kerry. For more info, click HERE.

SECOND MARRIAGE
US ASIANS:
Having been described by many in the media that you are a "changed man"
upon entering your second marriage (along with two kids), what new perspective(s)
on life and creativity has this relationship provided the opportunity to
discover and/or pursue - along with other prominent situations that have
occurred in your private life?

DAVID HENRY HWANG: Who described me as a "changed
man?" What was I supposedly like before? LOL - Certainly marriage and
becoming a parent are two of the major events that change the lives of
many people.

Actually, I didn't find marriage per se necessarily transformative,
as I'd always been sort of a serial monogamist anyway -- moreover, my
first marriage didn't feel so very different from living with a girlfriend,
albeit with more extensive paperwork.

Having children, however, has been a huge transition,
one I struggle to live up to every day. A certain amount of self-absorsion
is probably necessary for an artist, but as a parent, you need to be there
for your kids -- present, in the moment, providing guidance while also
fostering their eventual independence. I have found this incredibly difficult!
Furthermore, being in a long-term marriage
is also challenging -- at this writing,

David
& Kathryn

Kathryn and I have been together 16 years, and married
for 13. As couples grow older, I think they either grow apart, or manage
to achieve a new level of intimacy; we're still working to find the latter!
I'm sure both of these are impacting my work, though I'm still too close
to pinpoint exactly how.

US ASIANS:
What perspective(s) does your wife share of your work that is different
than how your work is perceived in the media - recognizing that she played
Renee in M. Butterfly and the dominatrix in "Bondage" - along with playing
the nurse for four season on TV's "Doogie Howser.M.D.?" Recognizing the
various themes within "Bondage" that included interracial relationships,
the trials of two people trying to connect while being vulnerable serve
as a foundation of understanding between your wife and yourself?